Tongue Bite

[Chriscamp]

Hi All - 10 year cigar smoker here, but I picked up a pipe this weekend.  I reviewed some of the stickies in this form - great advice, but I am looking for some specific help with Tongue bite.  Along with the pipe I picked up some English Luxury and Spider web vanilla.  I really noticed a bad case of tongue bite after the weekend and I am looking for some advice as to what I am doing wrong.  I am lightly tamping before relighting.  Also is it best to let the tongue rest completely before trying again?

 

[Devil Doc]

Lay off the aromatic tobaccos.
 
Doc

 

[B.HOBS]

Doc is right to an extent......a lot of aromatics will give you one hell of a tongue bite if you aren't gentle with them, but some wont bite you. There are also types of non-aromatics that will bite the crap outta you too. If you enjoy aromatics, more power to you, but take it slow. Pipe smoking is much different than cigar smoking. You dont go for huge volumes of smoke, and let it rest for a minute or two between puffs. You want the pipe to borderline lit/unlit. If your pipe becomes scorching hot, you're gonna have trouble. This will give you the best results...and remember, it takes time to develop your technique.
 
To deal with the tongue bite you have now....Biotene mouthwash. Grab some at Walgreens or Rite Aid. It will help alleviate the pain and heal your tongue. Dont smoke until it is somewhat healed up, otherwise you are just asking for more pain.
 
Good luck to you.

 

[Pipe Smoker]

A lot of people recommend drying tobacco out so it burns easier, but it will also burn hotter. The only time I really find tongue bite to be an issue is with overly dry tobacco. If you are in the habit of drying your tobacco before you smoke it, give it a try right out of the time and see if that helps any. You may also want to consider the manner in which you light, or more aptly, relight your pipe. As cigar smokers were are used to taking long deep draws to get the cigar lit, but you can actually draw much of the heat through the bit and scorch your tongue.
 
Being a long time cigar smoker, you may simply be drawing too often and too hard for pipe smoker. Its repeated so often as to have become cliche, but you really need to sip the pipe.


 

 

[Chriscamp]

Thanks for the advice guys

 

[Devil Doc]

I disagree with pipesmoker. Moist tobacco, fresh out of the tin, has a lot of water in it. When you set it on fire, you produce steam, which is going to burn your tongue and make it more difficult to keep you pipe lit. I like my tobacco on the slightly crisp side. Oh, and your new pipe isn't broken it yet. That doesn't help much either.
 
Doc

 

[LilBastage]

I disagree with pipesmoker. Moist tobacco, fresh out of the tin, has a lot of water in it. When you set it on fire, you produce steam, which is going to burn your tongue and make it more difficult to keep you pipe lit. I like my tobacco on the slightly crisp side. Oh, and your new pipe isn't broken it yet. That doesn't help much either.
 
Doc

Doc is wise.
 
It could also be a body chemistry issue. Some brands bite some people and don't bite others. Mac Baren blends bite the hell out of a couple of guys I know (seasoned smokers so it's not a technique issue) but I have no problem with the ones that I've tried. It's not just brands, either. I find that burley blends bite me far more often than any others, including Virginia blends.

 

[Mark Twain]

 

I disagree with pipesmoker. Moist tobacco, fresh out of the tin, has a lot of water in it. When you set it on fire, you produce steam, which is going to burn your tongue and make it more difficult to keep you pipe lit. I like my tobacco on the slightly crisp side. Oh, and your new pipe isn't broken it yet. That doesn't help much either.
 
Doc

Doc is wise.
 
It could also be a body chemistry issue. Some brands bite some people and don't bite others. Mac Baren blends bite the hell out of a couple of guys I know (seasoned smokers so it's not a technique issue) but I have no problem with the ones that I've tried. It's not just brands, either. I find that burley blends bite me far more often than any others, including Virginia blends.
 
 
My experience echos yours. I smoke a number of Mac Baren blends and have never really experienced too much bite. Sometimes its technique. Sometimes its humidity/ temperature. Sometimes we just have no clue why a particular blend leaves us raw.  

 

[MadMonk]

Drink coffee while smoking your pipe. The acid in it counters the alkaline in the baccy.

 

[SkyKing]

I no longer smoke pipes regularly but I do recall the bite problems as a novice. Like many things, the causes and solutions were multiple. Avoiding aromatic or flavored baccas, e.g, anything cherry or vanilla, smoking shallow sips, relighting promptly and dumping bacca that's gone cold, resting pipes religiously, resting the mouth between bowls, all helped reduce the bite problem.
 
Mad Monk's theory is interesting. It wasn't on my personal list of cures but when I smoked bowls regularly, I habitually accompanied the tobacco with coffee.